Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. The jail figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site on September 24, 2026.
Scott County, Mississippi, has about 28,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Scott County Sheriff's Office and two city agencies. An arrest leaves the same records whoever makes it: the arresting agency's report, the record of anyone held at the county jail, and, if the District Attorney files charges, a case in the Scott County Circuit Court. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it, with the arrest counts each agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies, cities and common questions.
Related guides: Scott County public records, Mississippi arrest records, Mississippi inmate search and Mississippi criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Scott County
The Scott County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Scott County. It reported 1,152 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside two of the county's cities are reported to the FBI by an agency of the city's own, listed here with the Census population and what each reported:
- Forest, 5,364 residents: 155 arrests reported for 2024.
- Morton, 3,641 residents: 40 arrests reported for 2023.
A city on that list is reported separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Scott County
Each agency reports its arrests to the FBI by month, and the FBI publishes them on the Crime Data Explorer. These are the full-year totals, all offenses, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026; a year with months missing or not reported is left out.
- Scott County Sheriff's Office: 1,152 for 2025, 1,152 for 2024, 1,146 for 2023, 1,132 for 2022, 919 for 2021 and 1,146 for 2020.
- Forest: 155 for 2024, 178 for 2023, 157 for 2022, 142 for 2021 and 121 for 2020.
- Morton: 40 for 2023, 25 for 2022, 0 for 2021 and 4 for 2020.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2024 on file reported 1,307 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2024 and 2023 complete reported 1,307 in 2024 against 1,324 in 2023, down 1.3 percent.
Morton reported only part of 2024 (3 months) and is left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Scott County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Scott County is held at the county jail, whichever agency made the arrest, apart from the short stay some city departments' own holding cells allow; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked at all. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and the court file takes over from there.
On an average day in 2019 the jail held about 100 people. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Mississippi Department of Corrections lists its inmates at mdoc.ms.gov/inmate_search.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Scott County
For Scott County the place to look is the case index of the Scott County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at scottcountyms.gov/courts, phone 601-469-1922).
Mississippi does not let the public search another person's statewide criminal history. The record kept by the Mississippi Department of Public Safety Criminal Information Center goes to the person it belongs to and to employers and agencies the law authorizes; for everyone else the court's own case index is the public record of an arrest that led to a charge.
Getting a Copy of an Arrest Record in Scott County
An arrest report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court or the jail. Under the Mississippi Public Records Act the agency must answer within 7 working days, or up to 14 where local rules allow, and it may charge the actual cost of search, review and copying.
- An arrest by the Scott County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Forest or Morton: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Scott County Circuit Court, through the court records page at scottcountyms.gov/courts, phone 601-469-1922.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the Criminal Information Center.
Cities in Scott County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for two of the four cities in Scott County: Forest and Morton. Lake and Sebastopol have no separate reporting agency in the FBI's list.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Scott County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Scott County each year?
The Scott County Sheriff's Office reported 1,152 arrests to the FBI for 2025. For 2024, the latest year most of the agencies in Scott County sent in full, the two with every month on file reported 1,307 between them.
Where are people arrested in Scott County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Scott County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Scott County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Scott County Circuit Court are public and can be looked up through the court. The statewide criminal history kept by the Mississippi Department of Public Safety Criminal Information Center is not public; you can get your own. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Mississippi Public Records Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Scott County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Scott County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Mississippi Public Records Act the answer is due within 7 working days, or up to 14 where local rules allow.
Is this the official Scott County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.